Stephen Espinoza: Mayweather-Maidana worth seeing again

RING welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s majority decision over Marcos Maidana in May “was a very entertaining and exciting fight” that is “worth seeing again” according to Stephen Espinoza of Showtime.

“I think that when people ask about the rematch, whether you thought Floyd won by a slim margin or a comfortable margin, there’s no dispute that it was a very entertaining and exciting fight,” said Espinoza, executive vice president, general manager, Showtime Sports and Event Programming.

“For the entertainment value, alone, it’s worth seeing again. Personally, it’s one of the more exciting atmospheres that I’ve been in, so that’s really why all of us collectively decided that we would do a rematch.”

But defeating Maidana (35-4, 31 knockouts), Mayweather (46-0, 26 KOs) ended the loser’s streak of four consecutive victories, three of which were knockouts, and added the WBA’s 147-pound belt to the RING and WBC championships he already owned.

By returning to the MGM for the 10th straight time, and the 13th overall, Mayweather also ended speculation that he might take his next fight to Barclays Center in Brooklyn given that Mayweather Promotions applied for and received a license to promote from the New York State Athletic Commission.

In addition, Barclays Center has become a popular venue for boxing, appeared to be in line to host the fight with Madison Square Garden having an Eagles concert on Sept. 13, and in the wake of Barclays Center CEO Brett Yormark having previously attempted to lure Mayweather-Maidana with a major offer.

“Floyd’s comfortable there [MGM,] and they did a great job supporting the main event,” said Espinoza. “So they deserved to have the rematch. It’s Floyd’s home, and he’s most comfortable there.”